Chapter 668 Donation
Any one of these will offend a lot of people.
Although Gu Renjie is currently in the cabinet, he is still only a fifth-rank official, yet he dares to offend so many people just because of his father. Everyone present thought that Gu Renjie had gone mad.
Only Gu Jin, Gu Shuyan, and Yun Yichen knew that Gu Renjie's words were, on one hand, genuinely for the good of the people, and on the other hand, deliberately said for the emperor's benefit.
Sure enough, the emperor's satisfaction increased even more, and a slight smile appeared on his face.
“What you say is very true, Minister Gu. In that case, let’s do as you suggest and have the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue handle this matter together.”
The emperor's approval was expected by everyone, and the ministers and vice ministers of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue looked at Gu Renjie with various expressions, but most of them were complaints.
Everyone wants to have a good New Year, but now, with Gu Renjie's actions, they don't feel comfortable celebrating the New Year.
After all, who would be happy to have so much to do as soon as they start working?
Gu Renjie thanked the emperor for his grace and sat back down properly.
The emperor glanced at Gu Renjie's face a few times. Although he didn't show it too obviously, his smile still caught everyone's attention.
Upon seeing this, Lu Changqing and Lu Yuanbin couldn't help but glance at Gu Renjie again.
However, in their view, the Gu family had always maintained neutrality and had good connections. If Gu Renjie could take this opportunity to offend a few people, it would naturally put him at ease.
They only understood the meaning in the emperor's eyes today when they wrote Gu Renjie's name on the imperial edict.
Just when everyone thought they could at least have a proper meal, Gu Shuyan spoke up again.
"Your Majesty, I have a request, but I don't know if I should say it."
Gu Shuyan's words had already dampened the lively atmosphere, and now that she was speaking up again, the emperor dared not grant her request directly.
However, if the other party is not allowed to speak, it would be a shame for the emperor of a nation to be looked down upon.
After weighing the options, the emperor decided to let Gu Shuyan speak.
“When I passed through various places before, I saw some young ladies from wealthy families donating their jewelry and money to raise food for the disaster victims. As a noblewoman, I am grateful for His Majesty’s great favor and wish to donate 20,000 taels to the Ministry of Revenue for the purpose of raising food.”
As soon as Gu Shuyan finished speaking, everyone present gasped.
Just then, Lady Ji stood up with Meng Wei and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to travel 20,000 li to the Ministry of Revenue to collect grain for our use."
When the Ji family made a move, the wife of the Marquis of Jinning was naturally involved, followed by the First Madam of General Ji's mansion.
The emperor was naturally pleased to see that these people were willing to contribute money.
The national treasury was already empty that year due to disaster relief efforts. If these people could help raise money, it would alleviate a lot of the pressure.
Knowing that she had to step forward even if she didn't want to, the Empress rose from her seat and said to the Emperor beside her, "Your Majesty, as the mistress of the harem and the mother of the nation, I am willing to contribute 30,000 taels of silver to purchase grain."
With the Empress having spoken, who else would dare not contribute, no matter how much?
In one night, they raised nearly 500,000 taels of silver for the Ministry of Revenue.
Since Gu Shuyan had asked for 20,000 taels, these officials were naturally embarrassed to give only a few thousand taels. Of course, apart from a few truly impoverished officials, everyone rushed to give money.
On New Year's Eve, the emperor hosted a banquet for officials and replenished the national treasury. The emperor was overjoyed, but the empress and other concubines were unhappy.
They tried their best to get money from the emperor every day, but they didn't get much and ended up giving it all back.
As a result, some people were happy while others were sad.
Gu Shuyan didn't have a good New Year, and that made many other people suffer as a result.
However, the fact that the imperial court had money to buy grain was a good thing for Gu Shuyan.
Upon returning to the Yun residence, Gu Shuyan immediately sent messages to various places, instructing grain merchants to sell grain to the people at a fair price, and to sell grain at a price 20% higher to any government officials who came to buy it.
Because Gu Shuyan had collected a lot of grain in various places before, plus the grain that Xu Yunzhi sold to her, buying at 20% of the price was not a loss at all.
The Empress originally wanted to take this opportunity to win over Gu Shuyan, but in the end she failed to do so and ended up losing 30,000 taels of silver herself.
Thinking of the 30,000 taels of silver that had disappeared for nothing, the Empress dared not get angry and had to suppress her anger.
In contrast, Consort Sun was not as patient as the Empress. She raised her glass cup to smash it on the ground, but when she thought of the 20,000 taels of silver that had just disappeared, she managed to hold back.
Glass cups are quite expensive, and if you break one, you'll have to replace it. If the emperor finds out, he will surely be displeased.
So, Consort Sun had some ordinary teaware brought out, vented her anger, and then calmed down.
As for the other ladies of the court, they all returned home like resentful women, some even cursing Gu Shuyan inside and out.
At the Geng residence, Madam Geng, the wife of Vice Minister Geng, said as they walked, "Master is well aware of our family's situation. He directly agreed to five thousand. Where are we supposed to find that much money?"
Families in similar circumstances to the Geng family only offered three thousand, but Minister Geng insisted that he offer five thousand.
Seeing his wife's worried face, Vice Minister Geng sighed, "I know that my wife has suffered a lot of grievances because of our poverty, but when I think of the miserable state of the people of Suzhou, I would rather be poor myself than see those already poor people unable to even have enough to eat."
Madam Geng had been married to Vice Minister Geng for many years and knew his temperament well. So she finally sighed and asked her maid to bring all the things she could sell.
“These are all pieces of jewelry that my husband and children have bought for me over the years. My husband, take them to the pawnshop another day and see how much you can get for them.”
Seeing his wife take out all her jewelry, Vice Minister Geng felt very uncomfortable.
Over the years, he served as an official diligently, only seeking to be an incorruptible one. And he truly succeeded, though it brought hardship to his wife and children. So many years have passed, and although his official rank has risen, the family's wealth has not increased by a single penny.
"You've suffered so much all these years. If only you hadn't..."
Before Vice Minister Geng could finish speaking, his wife already knew what he was going to say.
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have married into that merchant family. And although life is a bit hard after marrying you, I'm happy."
Upon hearing his wife's words, Vice Minister Geng put down the jewelry box in his hand and was about to reach out to hug her when a maidservant rushed in from outside the door.
"Master, Madam, someone requests an audience."
Upon hearing this, the couple exchanged a glance. Seeing that Minister Geng was about to leave, Madam Geng quickly grabbed him.
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